Dog-walking age ban has Upper Hutt owners growling

By JO-MARIE BROWN

Upper Hutt teenagers may be banned from exercising dogs in public if they do not own them.

A draft Upper Hutt City Council policy has raised eyebrows by stating that only owners, or "a responsible person who is over the age of 16 years and has the owner's permission", may walk dogs along the city's streets.

The council's director of regulatory services, Graham Miller, said the policy did not prohibit young people from owning dogs.

If an under-16-year-old owned a dog, he or she could walk it because the parents or legal guardians were liable under the expanded definition of owner if anything went wrong.

"The object of the exercise was to try to ensure that people walking dogs were capable of keeping them under control whether through maturity, sense of responsibility or, in the case of some dogs, actual physical strength," Mr Miller said.

The draft policy was formulated last month when the council's policy committee reviewed their obligations under the Dog Control Act.

Submissions close on February 21 and the council will then decide whether to make the under-16 provision a bylaw.

Mr Miller said, if adopted, anyone breaching the bylaw would probably receive just a warning.

If other Dog Control Act offences were committed then a fine might be imposed.

But members of the public who pay young teenagers to walk their dogs have already phoned the council to protest.

Councillor Pat Christianson, who was on the policy committee, was also unhappy.

"From 14 or 15 upwards you're allowed to babysit. It's a case of the law being an ass really when they're putting dogs on a higher plane than a child," she said.

The Auckland SPCA general manager, John Loof, said the proposal was heavy-handed.

"The majority of dog problems in society don't occur when an individual is walking a dog. At least if someone is taking a dog for a walk, they're caring for it."

A Professional Dog Obedience School trainer, Pete Pedersen, said he agreed with the council's intention that people should be able to control their pet dogs.

"[But] I think they're going about it the wrong way.

"It comes down to matching. There are some jolly big 15-year-olds around that would have no problem so you can't go from an age point of view."

Councils contacted in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Rotorua did not have age restrictions for dog-walkers, but most required the person to be physically capable of restraining the pet.

OLD ENOUGH

* Voting - 18 years

* Buying and drinking 1 alcohol at licensed premises - 18 years

* Marriage - between 16 and 20 years with parental consent

* Leave home - 16 years without parental consent

* Leaving school - 16 years

* Applying for a driver's licence - 15 years

* Babysitting - 14 years